Alabama lawmakers advance legislation to protect IVF providers, with final approval still ahead

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama lawmakers facing public pressure to get in vitro fertilization services restarted in the state advanced legislation Tuesday to shield providers from the fallout of a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children.

Committees in the state Senate and House approved identical bills that would protect providers from lawsuits and criminal prosecution for the "damage or death of an embryo" during IVF services. The state's three major IVF providers paused services after the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling last month.

"The problem we are trying to solve right now is to get those families to be back on track to be moving forward as they try to have children," said Rep. Terri Collins, the sponsor of one of the bills.

Lawmakers are aiming to give final approval Wednesday and send the legislation to Gov. Kay Ivey to be signed into law.

"We anticipate the IVF protections legislation to receive final passage this week and look forward to the governor signing it into law," Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said.

The state Supreme Court ruled that three couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a storage facility could pursue wrongful death lawsuits for their "extrauterine children." The ruling, treating an embryo the same as a child or gestating fetus under the wrongful death statute, raised concerns about civil liabilities for clinics.

The court decision caused an immediate backlash as groups across the country raised concerns about a ruling recognizing embryos as children. Patients in Alabama shared stories of having upcoming embryo transfers abruptly canceled and their paths to parenthood put in doubt.

Beth and Joshua Davis-Dillard, who described themselves as in the "middle of IVF," watched on as the Senate committee advanced the legislation.

The couple transferred frozen embryos left over from when they had their twins to Alabama after moving from New York.

"We've been working up to getting ready to trying again. We still have embryos from our prior cycle, which we did in New York. We transferred them here. We can't use them. We're on hold," Beth Davis-Dillard said. "I'm 44, so time is limited. We don't have unlimited time to wait. We really want to give it a try and see if we can have another baby."

Republicans in the GOP-dominated Alabama Legislature are looking to the immunity proposal as a solution to clinics' concerns. But they have shied away from proposals that would address the legal status of embryos created in IVF labs.

"Let's get IVF restarted ASAP," Fertility Alabama, one of the providers that paused services, wrote in a social media post urging support for the bill.

However, The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a group representing IVF providers across the country, said the legislation does not go far enough.

Sean Tipton, a spokesman for the organization, said Monday that the legislation does not correct the "fundamental problem," which he said is the court ruling "conflating fertilized eggs with children."

House Democrats proposed legislation last week stating that a human embryo outside a uterus can not be considered an unborn child or human being under state law. Democrats argued that was the most direct way to deal with the issue. Republicans have not brought the proposal up for a vote.

The GOP proposals state that "no action, suit, or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo shall be brought for "providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization." The legislation would apply retroactively except in cases where litigation is already underway.